“How did you get this job?” was the number one question I received from peers over my recent announcement of writing an upcoming X-O Manowar comic book for Valiant Comics / Alien Books. Had my silver tongue’s words reached the open ears of an interested editor? Maybe a trustworthy friend within the company vouched for me? Or, at long last, I wrote something so utterly jaw dropping that my inbox was flooded with hordes of secret admirers and hungry storytellers desperate to work with me?
The answer?
It was pure, unadulterated luck.
A different world ago, the previous licenseholders of the Valiant IP had something on their website that very few publishers do: a writer submissions email. Never shying away from a potential opportunity, I swiftly sent in my resumé and a small sampling of comic book PDFs to this mysterious portal. Then, like lightning, it happened…
I received absolutely no response.
And so, I went about my life, carrying on as I normally did. A couple of years later, I was in a unique spot in my personal history. Swearing off comic book writing forever, the gigs of chopping down trees, digging holes, and slicing up boulders took up a good chunk of my time. As weeks turned into months, everything changed when I awoke to a strange email. Apparently, it was someone from Valiant Comics offering me a job. I remember joking around and telling my friend that someone was trying to scam me. Another AI bot preying on my hopes in an effort to swindle a few bucks out of me. After several hours, I returned to the message and did some scouring. In short time, it became clear that the offer was indeed real.
Maybe I wasn’t finished writing comics just yet.
A yes turned into negotiations, which naturally evolved into a bonafide X-O Manowar story. When I eventually met my editor in real life, I couldn’t help myself and asked the question burning in my brain, which was followed by an unexpected response.
“How did you find me?”
“Oh, I read your email.”
You see, when Alien Books inherited the Valiant license, they also took over the email accounts. Deciding to shut down the submissions portal, a quick review of the samples took place before blasting them to oblivion. It seemed fate had other plans. Against all odds, my patient inquiry was miraculously plucked from the kindling and saved from a hot death of the pyre. And thus, my sacred and coveted reward: freelance employment.
Why am I telling you this? Well, my friends, everything which happened to me in that situation revolves around the simplest and kindest lesson I may give to every peer in this business. A mantra I’ve probably said a thousand times over to those seeking advice. While some may scoff and say, “Duh!”, you’d be surprised at how many people don’t even consider it. It’s something so obvious, yet surprisingly daunting…
“Just send the email.”
I don’t know if you’ve heard of this thing called the computer, but I love it! I didn’t really grow up with the internet, which I’m told is very strange for a Gen-Z person such as myself. That means my relationship with cyberspace is a little different than others, maybe even safe to say it’s still evolving to this day. Regardless, during my solo education into the worldwide web, a fun fact became very clear to me one day.
If you can believe it, a few clicks away is a digital realm of unlimited potential containing everything and everyone. To tap into the comics industry at large, you don’t even need to travel and network at comic cons anymore. If you’re landlocked in the middle of nowhere or can’t afford to go where the people are, don’t stress. Everything’s copacetic. Turn to your black mirror and press the on button. We’re going to get you into the world, but it’s going to take a little work and a lot of time.
Now more than ever is it easier to locate the professional contact information of any individual or business. It may require a smidge of investigation, but usually most answers appear with a quick and hearty Google. Take a gander at portfolio websites, corporate websites, Instagram bios, LinkedIn connections, or even just send a DM and ask the person! Leave no stone unturned! If the doors are locked, find an open window!
What I’m trying to say is this: business email addresses are freely out there and waiting to be used.
Comic creators have work emails.
Publishers have submissions emails.
Editorial staff have industry emails.
Corporations have entire contact directories.
Everybody is locked in and connected through this beautiful machine!
Now, I’m not encouraging you to spam every single human being in this profession with your 1000-issue magnum opus pitch proposal. That type of overeager, mad thinker is the first on the chopping block. Take your excitement into a cold shower and restrategize. There is no stranger alive who will give a damn about your big pitch upon first meeting you.
No, I’m tasking you to have a little more restraint and professionalism in a matter like this. Write up something slick. A brief, polite, and succinct biography and introduction. List your credits, link your own website, add in anything that screams, “I’m a sane and diligent worker, just like any other Average Joe in this four-color ratrace. Let’s work together! I can be trusted with the knowledge of the stars!” One page of that will do just fine. Depending on the situation, you’ll most likely be better off asking for permission to send PDF comic book samples. No one wants to be bombarded all at once, especially if they don’t know you. Keep a little mystery to yourself and build up a conversation once they reply.
If they reply at all, that is.
For these cold calls, my honest advice is to not follow-up. Simply leave it be. I’ve had people respond as quickly as fifteen minutes and as late as two years. If they really want to talk to you, they will. Give it time and trust the process.
Think of it like shooting an arrow off into the pitch-black darkness. You can shoot ten, one-hundred, or even one-thousand shots, and you might not hit anything. While admittedly disappointing and a sea of silent rejections, with enough fortitude, I guarantee you will one day hit something. You won’t even expect it. It’ll slink up on you, a radiant joy arriving unannounced. And then, when you know it’s truly possible, you realize that it can happen again.
Do not deprive yourself of that happiness.
Just send the email.
Are you still unsure? Let’s get a little raw and real for a second. There is no greater enemy to the average person than the self. Doubt and fear slither their way around the soul, enforcing some irrational notions to not even begin. This tyrannical dread whispering glass sharp insecurities to prevent your highest form of being from actualizing.
“Oh, I’d be bothering them.”
“They probably already get a lot of messages.”
“Why would they respond to me?”
“There’s no point.”
These are the intrusive barriers we construct to keep ourselves down. At the end of the day, there are no rules. As long as you don’t act like a psychopath or a real prick, no one will bat an eye at a digital business inquiry. If you don’t do it, someone else will. Don’t let the competition steal your destiny. If you really believe in yourself and your work, overcome these inhibitions and fight for your life. On the other side of doubt is everything you ever wanted. So, don’t take the plunge. Don’t take the leap of faith. You don’t need such grand gestures and melodrama. You’ve already got a simpler plan…
You’re just going to send the email.
Is there a dream creator you’d like to work with? Send the email.
Want a pull quote from a celebrity creator? Send the email.
Want to work with a specific publisher? Send the email.
Need this? Want that? Send the email.
Are you starting to get the message?
Good.
As our lesson comes to a close, I’d like to bookend this with a similar tale from a simpler time: the 1990s. Cartoonist Darwyn Cooke mailed over a pitch proposal for his short story Batman: Ego to the DC Comics submissions office. The guy in charge received the project, looked it over, and shoved it into a filing cabinet. Almost half a decade later, the new head-honcho of submissions decided to randomly look inside that ominous and rusty filing cabinet over there. With one humble drawer pulled, they discover a dusty and forgotten pitch, waiting to be saved, and are left with one question…
“Why did we never publish this?”
Through one simple act, an artist gained a lifelong career. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a world without Cooke’s The New Frontier. The methods may have evolved over time, but the results are still the same.
It may take days, months, or even years, but who really cares?
You have time.
Shoot your shot.
Just send the email.
Louis Southard is a a comic book writer, editor, and IP developer with credits at Valiant Entertainment, Mad Cave Studios, Sumerian Comics, and several others. His past licensed IP development and comics work include Moomin, Flash Gordon, X-O Manowar, BioShock, and more.
